Okay - this was FUN! A pretty unique magic system (I would have loved more info here; maybe in book 2? I wasn’t sure what exactly was so child-sacrifice-worthy about high magick beyond vague references to great power). An interesting group of champions (“villains”), with 4 engaging POVs. Usually with multiple POV books I am dragging my feet at at least one of them, but in this case I enjoyed what each voice brought to the table. As others have mentioned in their reviews .. there’s not much villainy or murder in a book that’s about a villainous tournament to the death. And with 4 out of 7 champion POVs covered, it’s kind of clear who may be the least important to the story. 👀 But all that aside, I couldn’t put this down and can’t wait for book 2. The cliffhanger was a little weird / it seemed like the tournament arc should have been finished in book 1 and then another conflict could have arisen based on the outcome / but I guess I’m sold on the story already!